Jets' Adam Gase explains why offense was bad in Miami, why it could be different in 2019

New York Jets new head coach Adam Gase on what he thinks of rookie quarterback Sam Darnold, saying there "needs to be a direct line of communication" between himself and Darnold.
Andy Vasquez and Danielle Parhizkaran, North Jersey Record

FLORHAM PARK — Adam Gase is the first head coach with an offensive background that the Jets have hired since the mid-1990s.

Clearly, they believe Gase can get the most out of young quarterback Sam Darnold and find a way to score more points.

But that's not a lock, because Gase’s offenses weren’t good in Miami. In his three seasons with the Dolphins, they finished 14th, 27th and 26th in Football Outsiders’ DVOA rankings.

So what went wrong?

“Trust me, I looked at that a lot myself,” Gase said at his introductory press conference Monday. “When you look at rankings and start worrying about that: A big focus of ours was our turnover margin. We knew we had to play a certain way. We lost some of our key pieces and we knew we were going to have to find certain ways to win. And really we sacrificed statistics to try to get wins.”

Translation: Felt he had to play conservatively the last couple years without Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill at 100 percent.

The New York Jets new head coach Adam Gase speaks to reporters during a press conference on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, in Florham Park. (Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com)

Some would argue that with a 23-25 record over the last three seasons, there was too much sacrifice and not enough winning. But Gase defended his strategy, correctly noting that the Dolphins were in the playoff hunt before losing the final three games of the season, leading to his firing.

“We focused on trying to make sure we had great ball security and getting turnovers on the other end,” Gase said. “And we were able to do that and stay in games and make plays at the end of the game that put us in position with three games left, we were still alive in the playoff hunt, we just couldn’t figure it out.

“And really, to me that’s why you look at the rankings, that’s my best answer for that. I wish it was Top 10, Top 5.”

Gase said he believes things will be different with the Jets. They have Darnold, a couple of dangerous receivers in Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson, and the means to add pieces. The Jets have around $100 million in cap space to spend along with the No. 3 pick in April’s NFL Draft.

The New York Jets CEO and Chairman Christopher Johnson, left, shakes hands with new head coach Adam Gase during a press conference on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, in Florham Park. (Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com)

“We have a different set of players here … that we’ll grow,” Gase said. “And hopefully we can really be in that upper echelon of offenses.”

Gase's offensive philosophy

Essentially, he's not going to make his players fit into his system. He's going to design a system to maximize his players and give them the best chance to win every week.

"Really, I’ve always been doing what’s best to win that game," Gase said. "There’s been games where all the sudden it’s 55 percent run, [or] 55 percent pass, [or] 60 percent pass. It flip-flops from game to game. We always go into that game saying, what’s the best thing for us to do to win this game as a team, and that’s offense defense and special teams."

But if he gets the chance, Gase admitted he'd like to go for big plays.

"I’d love to say I’m real aggressive. Deep down, I really want to throw it all the time. But I’m going to do what’s best for that game."

The Jets' offense was historically bad at times last season, including a five-game stretch in which they scored one touchdown or fewer -- the first time that happened in franchise history.